Saudi Arabia must immediately identify and punish the perpetrators of attacks on Shi’ite mourners

During his first advanced jurisprudence class after Muharram/Ashura holidays, Grand Ayatollah Naser Makarem-Shirazi discussed the attacks on Shi’ite mourners in Saudi Arabia and the Western propaganda surrounding the acid attacks in the Iranian city of Esfahan.

The revered source of emulation denounced the sorrowful crimes and bitter attacks on Shi’ite mourners in the al-Ahsa region of Saudi Arabia, explaining that a group of cruel Takfiris attacked the Shi’ite mourners and a number of them were wounded and martyred. “This incident showed that violence against Shi’ites in the Hejaz region of Saudi Arabia has grown and they feel intimidated [by the regime]. There is very heavy responsibility on the shoulders of Saudi Arabia’s rulers.”

He added that the Grand Mufti of Saudi Arabia strongly condemned this crime and called for the punishment of the perpetrators of this crime. “We are pleased with this but not to find that the Shi’ites were attacked with weapons and then the attackers attempted to escape. For the government of Saudi Arabia, this action was not difficult work,” Ayatollah Makarem-Shirazi stated.

Ayatollah Makarem-Shirazi emphasized the importance of identifying the perpetrators of these crimes and called on Saudi officials to punish them immediately. He stated that finding the perpetrators should not be difficult.

“We strongly condemn this crime against the partisans of the Ahlul-Bayt and we warn the Saudi officials that we hope that the security of its Shi’ite citizens will not be undermined because if it is, Shi’ites all over the world will react,” the great scholar warned.

Ayatollah Makarem-Shirazi condemned the acid attacks that occurred in Esfahan and stated that foreign reports regarding these attacks were extremely biased, calling them just “noise.” He pointed out that the Iranian authorities have mobilized with all the equipment available in order to find the perpetrators of this crime. God-willing the perpetrators will be found and will be punished for their actions.

“Our enemies and opponents are spreading biased propaganda and are attempting to link these acid attacks to [the Islamic Republic of Iran’s promotion of] ‘enjoining the good.’ However, this is not the case at all,” His Eminence added.

Almost all foreign media sources have claimed that the eight young women who have had acid thrown at them by assailants on motorcycles was due to their poor hijab and linked it with Iran’s laws enforcing public morality. Iranian officials have stated that the acid attacks in Esfahan have nothing to do with the hijab and have strongly condemned the crimes. 111/112